


Just Between You and Me

by katopiyo



Series: Evens Month 2020 [4]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Butler AU, Evens Month 2020, Gen, I don't know how to categorize their relationship here, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25782079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katopiyo/pseuds/katopiyo
Summary: Duo and Quatre spend the night talking in the garden about starry skies and fairy tales.
Relationships: Duo Maxwell & Quatre Raberba Winner, Duo Maxwell/Quatre Raberba Winner
Series: Evens Month 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859044
Kudos: 3





	Just Between You and Me

**Author's Note:**

> For Evens Month week 2.  
> Duo is a butler for the Winner family who was hired under unusual circumstances.  
> Written vaguely in the image of an AU whose plot is still undecided.  
> Built from the keywords “stars,” “self,” “fairy tale,” “flowers,” “heart,” “experiment,” and “swap.”

It's another chilly night in the colony. The artificial sky is dark, save for a few odd lights. It's a familiar sight that's the same no matter the colony or the cluster. Though, maybe L2's sky felt a little more lifeless.

Duo stifles a yawn while he stands outside in the garden beside Quatre, who hasn't been able to sleep. Since Quatre chose him as his personal attendant, he had no choice but to follow along when the young heir couldn't sleep at two in the morning and wanted to go outside for some fresh air. 

Duo couldn't remember how long it'd been since Quatre personally hired him, but this was routine, now. Nights like these were also the only time when Duo felt safe enough to break the head butler's rules in the way that Quatre constantly asked him to. Late at night, Quatre was just Quatre. Not 'Master Quatre' or any other title. Except for maybe 'prince' or 'your highness' if Duo felt like teasing. But he did his best to refrain. He knew Quatre only went out like this when he was stressed, and some lines weren't meant to be crossed.

Tonight, Quatre brought several books regarding Earth out with him to the garden. For a while, he studied the flowers that were planted all around. He was particularly interested in the camellias blooming a bit further away from the mansion, and he sketched a few in the dim glow of the garden lights and the colony moonlight.

Now, they sat together on one of the garden's stone benches. Quatre continues his botanical explorations while Duo's eyes wander over to the array of books between them. There really was no subject Quatre hadn't stuck a hand into at this point. He was becoming a walking encyclopedia from his father keeping him shut in the mansion a good ninety percent of the time. He even attended school remotely under the guise of it being for his 'safety.'

A little bored, Duo once again idly watches the little lights in the colony's sky. Then, an idea crosses his mind.

"Quatre," he speaks, glancing over.

"Hm?" The boy doesn't look up.

"I know neither of us has been there yet, but," Duo starts, "what do you know about the night sky on Earth?"

Quatre stares at him for a moment. "What's gotten you curious, all of a sudden?"

"You said you haven't been to Earth before, either, but you do study it a lot, so…" Duo scratches the back of his neck. If the head butler saw his posture, he'd get a good scolding from the tall, bearded man.

"Well," Quatre places a bookmark and closes his book, turning to grab a different one from the stack. "It's very pretty in pictures. Father and Iria say it looks much better in person."

"You remember what space looks like from a shuttle, right?" Quatre asks. "You had the window seat the last time you and the others accompanied me to an inter-colony conference."

"Yeah, why?"

"It's not all too different from that," Quatre explains, flipping through pages, careful not to cut his finger. "But the sun hides behind Earth's horizon, the moon looks much smaller, and unlike here, the sky is full of stars."

"But how many stars you can see depends on the amount of light pollution around you," Quatre notes. "Cities tend to have a lot more of it than smaller towns."

Quatre finds a good page and hands his book to Duo. "They used a few tricks to bring out more vivid colors and make the stars more visible, but this is my favorite photograph in this book."

Over the silhouette of the treeline, is a sky full of little, shining stars. The sky is mostly a deep navy blue like the colony's simulation, but with a gradient of lighter blues and purples, a touch of rosy pink in the distance. The moon is a small, glowing crescent - almost unrecognizable compared to how it looks from the colonies. The whole scene looks almost magical. Duo opens his mouth to speak, but there aren't any words.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Quatre says fondly, running a finger over the glossy paper. "I really want to see the Earth soon," he sighs.

"Sometimes I get a little jealous of Earth kids," Duo admits. "I wonder if they get dragged into as much war-related junk as we do."

"Luckily we're on the end of the spectrum that only gets dragged in sometimes."  
"That's rich coming from someone who keeps getting shot or barely avoiding it."  
"One of the meeting halls we were supposed to go to got blown up, too."

The pair briefly look at each other, then both laugh bittersweetly.

"Oh, what I'd give to live in a normal Earth kid's shoes for a day," Duo sighs. "I'd probably kill somebody if it meant I could try it out for a week."

"There's a fairy tale like that from Earth," Quatre says. "Without the murder, though. Don't do that," he gives a playful pout.

"How does it go?" Duo turns, leaning an elbow on the back of the bench as he listens.

"I don't remember it perfectly since it's been a while," Quatre admits, "But it's about two boys with the same birthday who look alike - nearly identical. One is a prince, and the other is a pauper."

Duo raises a brow. "Kinda like us, huh?"

"One day, the prince saves the pauper from getting beaten up by royal guards," Quatre continues.

"Okay, that part is _definitely_ not us," Duo snorts. He fondly remembers knocking out a few guards the night he sneaked onto the Winner family's mansion grounds. Quatre giggles, likely recalling that same series of events.

"The prince invites the pauper into his chamber, and then they get to know each other," Quatre says. "After that, they decide to try swapping places for a while - just to see what the other's life is like."

Duo hums in thought for a moment.

"How tall are you again, Quatre?"  
"As tall as you are."  
"I remember Auda said we looked alike, too."

Quatre gives Duo a quizzical look.

"Duo, are you…?"  
"I'm not being serious! I just thought it might be a fun experiment."  
"Rashid would probably kill you."  
"Nah, Mr. Head Butler's a huge softie for me. Could really cut down on the nagging, though."

Quatre stifles a snicker.

"Maybe if we both get really good at acting we could pull it off," he muses.

"Or maybe we could switch minds like in those old fantasy movies," Duo suggests.

"I don't think that'd make much of a difference, though?"  
"We wouldn't have to fuss around with disguises that way. We wouldn't have to worry about the difference in our voices, either."

"It still doesn't account for differences here." Quatre points to his chest, then Duo's. "You'd still be you, and I'd still be me."

"But on the outside, we'd be each other," Duo counters. "If we kept quiet, it'd be harder to tell, maybe?"

"I guess," Quatre laughs. "You're really keen on trying this, huh?"

"I wanna see what it's like to be a rich boy," Duo grins. "I'd do everything in my power to get spoiled and pampered like it's the last day before the end of days."

"Have fun trying to get your manners down," Quatre says smugly.

"Luckily for me, I already know how to do pretty much everything you and the maids do."  
"'Cause you're a study bug?"

"I suppose you could put it that way," Quatre sighs, rising from the bench and picking up his books. "I could see about having us try on disguises just for fun sometime."

"Going to bed now?" Duo puts forth his hands to offer to carry some of the load. Quatre shakes his head, silently insisting he can handle it on his own. Duo gets the message and smiles. He opens the door for Quatre as they both head back to his quarters.

"Father's coming home tomorrow. I have to make sure I'm awake enough to properly face him," Quatre says darkly, moving to set his books down on his desk. Duo stops him and takes the stack before the hard covers meet the mahogany.

After changing back into his pajamas, Quatre continues talking as he climbs into bed and Duo re-shelves the books. "You rest, too. We still have to fix his first impression of you if he's still hanging onto it."

"He probably is," Duo snickers, sliding the last book onto the shelf.

"Thank you," Quatre says as he sinks into the cool linen covers.

"...What for?" the braided butler asks.

"A lot of things," Quatre smiles warmly. A little _too_ warmly.

"I'm not really sure what you mean," Duo laughs to himself under hitched breath. "...I'm just doing my job." Or, in reality, one job of two.

Slowly, Quatre shakes his head. He looks blissful in the sea of pale blue bedding, smile tired, but unfading as he watches his attendant. 

Sometimes Duo wondered if Quatre had forgotten about the odd deal that the two of them made on the night he descended on the young heir's balcony, clad in black and cloaked in artificial colony moonlight. At times, he found himself forgetting about it all, too. 

After a long pause, Duo speaks again. This line, he couldn't cross no matter how much he wanted to.

"I'm turning off the lights now," he says.

"Goodnight, Duo."  
"Goodnight, Master Quatre."


End file.
